Stranded at Moon Ping
24 februari 2017 - Keng Tung, Myanmar
Here's a short update on the journey. Crossed the border without any problems and made it the first day in Myanmar to Mong Phyat. A member of parliament arranged for a room at some sort of a YMCA. It involved a ride on the backseat of a moped to please the local immigration authorities. You should keep that in mind. It will be a returning issue... All things set and done, the next day I pushed on towards Keng Tung. Spend two nights there, yes it was that kind of town... Fourth day in Myanmar, I biked to Moon Ping. A hard but rewarding ride. With some heavy climbing, great views and a nice motel that seem to finish the day perfectly. How wrong I was! Wasn't nearly settled in, or the immigration authorities came knocking and wanted to have a conversation... In short; I wasn't allowed to stay, to continue on this route that I was following to eventually Mandalay. I also needed some bike permit. They told me to get it at the border... Which is Tachilek. They got a special kind of humour that I don't quite get yet. But it takes getting used to it, for sure! So, today I went back to Keng Tung by a shared taxi, which is a story by itself. I'm biking the fuck out of this medieval country tomorrow and will contemplate on how to skip this dark place.
Ouwe cultheld! Zet hem op en laat je niet uit het veld (van de weg) slaan door dit bureaucratisch gezever! Heel veel respect!